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3 Honolulu Officers Charged Over Killing of Teen Suspect

Deputy Prosecutor Christopher Van Marter said in court documents that the officer fired 10 rounds into the rear window of the Honda “without provocation.” Eight of the shots hit the teen.

June 16, 2021

A Honolulu police officer has been charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old male, Honolulu prosecutors said Tuesday.

The charges come after a grand jury last week declined to indict the same three officers in the shooting that killed Iremamber Sykap on April 5, the Associated Press reports.

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Officer Geoffrey H.L. Thom was charged with one count of murder in the second degree.

Zackary K. Ah Nee and Christopher Fredeluces were each charged with one count of attempted murder in the second degree.

All three officers face up to life in prison without parole if convicted.

Police said Sykap was driving a stolen Honda linked to an armed robbery, burglary, purse snatching and car theft and led officers on a pursuit, USA Today reports.

Deputy Prosecutor Christopher Van Marter said in court documents that Thom fired 10 rounds into the rear window of the Honda “without provocation.” Eight of the shots hit Sykap.

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Van Marter said that while Thom claimed the Honda rammed into his patrol car, body camera footage didn’t show that. Thom’s patrol car sustained “a few minor paint chips and some black scuffmarks,” Van Marter said.

 

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